Suicide Squad (New Earth)

The Suicide Squad is an elite government strike force operating under Task Force X. They are expendable agents who go on life-threatening missions, usually covert in nature. There have been several incarnations of this team. The original was a group called the [[Suicide Squadron

Contents

History

The Suicide Squad is an elite government strike force operating under Task Force X. They are expendable agents who go on life-threatening missions, usually covert in nature. There have been several incarnations of this team. The original was a group called the Suicide Squadron in World War II lead by Rick Flag, Sr.. The second group were high-profile monster hunters lead by Rick Flag, Jr.. Amanda Waller reactivated the program during Legends as a team of imprisoned super-criminals. They serve in exchange for reduced sentences. These super-criminals are sent on top-secret missions, with explosive devices that can be detonated by Waller if they disobey orders. This allows the government to deny their existence, as any mission can be called a "random super-villain attack." In addition to government work, they have sometimes operated independently.

World War II

The original "Suicide Squad" was a group of soldiers during World War II, who were sent to Dinosaur Island in a campaign called "The War That Time Forgot." Their official name was Squadron S, and they started calling themselves the Suicide Squadron because of their high mortality rate. Rick Flag was brought in as their leader, and he changed them from a military disgrace into an elite combat unit. They were also active during the Korean War.[1] Years later when the Justice Society was forced to disband by Senator McCarthy, President Truman had to deal with an influx of unopposed costumed villains and spies.[2] Truman established Task Force X to deal with these threats to national security. O.S.S. member Control was put in charge of Argent, the civilian side of Task Force X assigned to deal with costumed criminals. Jeb Stuart was placed in charge of the military side of Task Force X, and he recruited his old buddies in the Suicide Squad. Their operations were successful, but they were disbanded after Rick Flag sacrificed himself to destroy the War Wheel.[1]

The Brave and the Bold

Jeb Stuart later decided to revive the team, lead by Flag's son Rick Flag, Jr..[1] This new version of the Suicide Squad also included astro physicist Hugh Evans, nuclear physicist Jess Bright, and combat medic Karin Grace. Each member was the lone survivor of a horrible tragedy, willing to sacrifice themselves for others as others had done for them. Rick and Karin were in love, but they kept their feelings secret because Hugh and Jess both also loved Karin. They flew around the country in a special plane with a highly advanced laboratory, piloted by Flag.

Their first mission was destroying the prehistoric "Red Wave" beast, and they flew it into orbit around the sun with a rocket.[3] Returning to Earth, they were shrunk by cosmic rays and used this temporary size to destroy an enemy nuclear base. In Paris, they stopped the enormous Subway serpent by suffocating it.[4] They killed the Creature of Ghost Lake with a bomb when it threatened to destroy a nearby city.[5] Task Force X was briefly disbanded, but they returned under the orders of General Brent to fight super-intelligent dinosaurs from another dimension. They battled the cyclopsPolyphemus when it briefly captured Karin.[6] Earth was threatened again by the Master of the Dinosaurs, until they blew up his spacecraft. Mirage Master seeks them out to kill them, but they survive his illusions.[7] The Suicide Squad are nearly imprisoned inside an alien zoo for dinosaurs, but they escape. The Sculptor Sorcerer is hired by gangsters to turn the Suicide Squad into gold statues, but they break out and defeat him.[8]

Their final mission was investigating a temple in Cambodia, where they encountered a Yeti.[9] Flag was injured, and the others learned that Karin was in love with him. Bright and Evans were so angry that they threatened to leave the team. Despite this, they risked their lives to cover Karin and Rick during their escape. The Yeti attacked them both, sending Bright and Evans falling to their deaths. Stuart later told Flag that the team would have been disbanded due to budget cuts anyway, and he asked Flag to infiltrate the Forgotten Heroes.[1] It was later revealed that Evans died on impact, but Bright landed on the Yeti and survived. Bright swore revenge on Flag for leaving him behind.[10]

The early history of the Suicide Squad changed following Infinite Crisis. In this new timeline, Flag is much younger and was never a member of the team. Hugh Evans, Jess Bright, and Karin Grace are seen working under Frank Rock in 1952. Their focus is military counter-intelligence, not fighting monsters, and the government does not officially recognize them. Booster Gold travels to this era and helps them take down the spy Sergei Pushkin, grandfather of Rocket Red.[11] It is unclear how this retcon changes the rest of their development through history.

Legends

The Suicide Squad files were discovered by Amanda Waller, a congressional aide who wanted to revive the program using imprisoned super-villains.[1] Waller built a new Task Force X, and Rick Flag volunteered to work underneath her.[12]Bronze Tiger was enlisted for security, and they recruited the assassin Deadshot out of prison.[13] The rest of this experimental team included Blockbuster, Captain Boomerang, and Enchantress. Their first mission was successful and they destroyed the monster Brimstone, but Blockbuster died in the process.[14] Waller tried to keep her prisoners captive for longer, but Flag insisted on releasing them as they had promised.[15] Boomerang went on a crime spree and was captured by G. Gordon Godfrey, who promised to execute him on live television.[16] Task Force X were forced to rescue Boomerang when he threatened to reveal their existence. Waller tried to have Deadshot assassinate Boomerang, but Flag solved the problem non-lethally.[17] In the aftermath of these events, Waller presented her case personally to President Reagan and he decided to let them continue on a provisional basis.[1]

Plastique is mindwiped to forget the Squad existed. Darkseid sends his Female Furies to retrieve G. Gordon Godfrey, who is imprisoned in Belle Reve. The facility is nearly destroyed by Bernadeth, Lashina, Mad Harriet, and Stompa.[20] They are next asked to deal with a vigilante named William Hell, who is secretly advancing the agenda of the Aryan Empire. Deadshot impersonates Hell so they can discredit him, with the help of new recruit Black Orchid.[21] The President asks them to take down rogue hero Firestorm and Flag recruits several Firestorm enemies including Killer Frost, Multiplex, and Slipknot. This mission is complicated when their corrupt NSC liaison Derek Tolliver releases the uncontrollable Parasite into downtown Manhattan.[22] This escalated into a large battle between Firestorm and Firehawk, the Justice League, Parasite, and the Suicide Squad. Parasite knocks out both teams by stealing their powers, then Firestorm defeats Parasite and escapes.[23]

The government tells Waller to rescue Zoya Trigorin, a political prisoner in the Soviet Union. They enlist the Penguin to plan this dangerous mission behind enemy lines.[24] Their mission is complicated when Trigorin wishes to remain in Russia, and Enchantress goes on a rampage. Deadshot takes Enchantress down with a gunshot, but the Russian military is alerted to their presence.[25] They try to escape Russia by stealing the clothes of tourists, but the People's Heroes track them down. There is a giant fight and they subdue the People's Heroes, but Trigorin is killed by friendly fire and Nemesis is arrested. Briscoe is able to extract the others, but Nemesis is left behind.[26] Tolliver is revealed to have arranged this disastrous mission illegally, and Waller angrily punches him. Waller enlists Mark Shaw, the Privateer, who fights Rick Flag over Karin's affections. Flag has grown increasingly unstable, so Amanda Waller relieves him of command and promotes Bronze Tiger. Madame Xanadu examines Enchantress and gives them a way to control her, but explains that she will be much more dangerous if ever released. Herrs accidentally kisses Deadshot. Captain Boomerang begins posing as Mirror Master to commit petty crimes on the side.[27]

Millennium

Earth is attacked by Manhunters, with agents of the Manhunter Cult infiltrating every superhero group. There are Manhunters spotted in the bayou around Belle Reve, and Warden Economos sends the Suicide Squad on a non-sanctioned mission to destroy them. Privateer is selected for this mission, although the team distrusts him because he used to be a Manhunter. Batman visits Belle Reve to interrogate the Privateer, then learns of their mission and decides to follow them.[28] The Suicide Squad is sent to plant a giant bomb inside the heart of the Manhunter temple. Boomerang tests the explosive bracelets by telling Slipknot that they are fake, and Slipknot loses his arm trying to escape.[29] They battle their way through an army of Manhunter androids, which are disabled by the Spectre.[30] Karin Grace reveals that she became a Manhunter when she fell in love with Mark Shaw, and she tries to betray them. It is revealed that this was an android impersonating Mark Shaw, and she decides to personally carry the bomb inside. The transport vehicle crashes and Karin is pinned under it with no time to escape, so she dies in the explosion.[29] Batman is warned by Karin Grace, and manages to clear the temple of human hostages.[31]Captain Atom uses his nuclear powers to shield their escape.[32] The Suicide Squad does not receive public credit for this victory.[33]

Collision Course

Task Force X gains two new civilian members, spiritual guide Father Craemer and chief prison guard Murph. Mark Shaw quits to go freelance, and he is replaced by a mysterious woman called Duchess who volunteers her services. Batman infiltrates Belle Reve and uncovers files on the Suicide Squad. He threatens to expose Waller, so she threatens to expose his secret identity using the fingerprints of Matches Malone. Batman is forced to leave. Flag is promoted to team leader again.[34] Flag is sent by the President to rescue Hawk in Nicaragua with a team including Mr. 104, Psi, Thinker, and the Weasel. They are forced to fight the Doom Patrol and the Rocket Red Brigade. Every member of this team is killed except for Flag.[35] Tolliver sells the Squad's secrets to a senator named Joe Cray who is running for reelection. Nightshade becomes leader while Flag is busy. Speedy and Vixen join the team, going undercover in Colombia to take down drug kingpin Xavier Cujo.[36] Nightshade is forced to fist-fight Enchantress. Vixen succumbs to her animal tendencies and kills Cujo, then joins the Squad permanently to punish herself. Speedy quits.[37]

Rick Flag disobeys Waller and takes the team on an unauthorized mission to rescue Nemesis in Moscow. Javelin is recruited for this mission. Waller is furious, and has President Reagan send Justice League International to stop them.[38] The two teams fight each other, then realize they both want to save Nemesis. Batman and Rick Flag have to be physically restrained to stop them fighting. The Suicide Squad are allowed to leave, and Nemesis is transported to custody in a Justice League Embassy where he can later escape. Waller threatens the JLI's publicist Maxwell Lord to make sure he doesn't expose the Squad.[39]

Nightshade Odyssey

Senator Cray blackmails the Suicide Squad into helping his reelection campaign, by threatening to expose their existence. Derek Tolliver is placed in charge of Amanda Waller by a reluctant President Reagan. Nightshade is allowed a personal mission in exchange for her voluntary service. The Suicide Squad go to the mystical Land of the Nightshades, where her brother Larry Eden has been captured by the monster Incubus.[40] In this realm, Nightshade is a princess who has been banished.[41] They are captured by Incubus, who is possessing Larry Eden. Incubus reveals that its sister is Succubus, the entity who gives Enchantress her magic powers. Incubus takes Succubus out of Enchantress, making Enchantress lose her powers, then places Succubus inside Nightshade. Incubus tries to mate with Succubus, and Deadshot stops this by shooting Larry in the head.[42] They are sent to the Zero-Zone, where Shade the Changing Man helps them get home. Shade warns them that his old enemy Doctor ZZ is trying to take over Earth. They go on a mission to stop ZZ with new recruit Captain Cold, and Flag shoots ZZ dead. Shade becomes a permanent member of the team.[43]

Shade agrees to stay with the team if they'll help him get home. The Jihad returns with new members including Agni, Badb, Ifrit, a second Jaculi, Koschei the Deathless, a second Manticore, Ravan, and Rustam. They launch a full-scale attack on Manhattan. Rustam goes on TV and says the deaths will continue until the Americans that attacked them are handed over. Waller orders Flag to stand down, he refuses, and she tells him to do the job right this time.[44] Ifrit is a creature similar to Djinn with the memories of Mindboggler, and it torments Captain Boomerang for murdering her. Ravan wears an exo-skeleton to fight Bronze Tiger again, but Bronze Tiger defeats him and convinces him to change sides. The new Jaculi and Manticore are killed by Deadshot and Duchess, the others are neutralized, and Rustam escapes Flag again.[45]

Task Force X adds two new civilians, Mitch Sekofsky in charge of vehicle maintenance and scientist Yvonne Calendar. Calendar tries to reprogram Ifrit. Nemesis returns. Tolliver threatens to take Waller's job, and Rick puts a gun in Tolliver's face until Waller makes Rick leave.[46]Manhunter brings a woman named Anna-Marie Vere to warn the Suicide Squad. They have been targeted by Argent's leader Control, who believes they are a threat to the world. Argent tricks them into attacking a heavily guarded Kobra base. They also gun down Waller in the streets, but this is revealed to be Nemesis in disguise wearing kevlar. Waller turns the tables on Argent, aware she is being manipulated, and exposes Vere as their true leader.[47] Captain Boomerang's alter ego Mirror Master gets captured, and assigned to the Suicide Squad. Both of them are sent on a mission to take down the L.O.A. crime organization, and Captain Boomerang tries to pull off an elaborate farce. This is revealed to be a prank by Waller, who knew he was Mirror Master, and wanted to embarrass him before taking him into custody.[48]

Final Round

Derek Tolliver orders Waller to eliminate Senator Cray's competitor. Waller gets Tolliver to back down by using Checkmate to blackmail him. Enchantress tries to regain her powers by shooting Nightshade. Nightshade is hospitalized under the care of their new medic, Waller's sister Mary White. Rick Flag visits Tolliver, unaware that he is no longer a threat, and kills him to protect the Squad.[49] Waller realizes this, and orders the Suicide Squad to stop Rick Flag killing Senator Cray by any means necessary. Deadshot gets there first, and realizes he will have to kill Rick to stop him. Deadshot completes the mission by killing Cray himself, then gets into a shootout with police at the Lincoln Memorial. He is shot many times, but he survives. Despite these efforts, police find a press release about the Suicide Squad in Tolliver's office. This is sent to the Daily Planet and they are exposed to the public.[50]

There is a special senate subcommittee investigation, and Waller is put on trial by Warren Eden. To improv public opinion of the Suicide Squad, Waller sends them to rescue an American nun imprisoned on foreign soil. Bronze Tiger leads a team to Ogaden with new members including Count Vertigo, Doctor Light, Punch & Jewelee, Ravan, and Shrike.[55] Their mission is successful, but Shrike is killed in combat. Waller reveals to Eden that his daughter is Nightshade, and makes a deal. The Suicide Squad gains public approval and Eden turns them into a legitimate government agency. Amanda Waller is replaced by a man named Jack Kale, but Kale is revealed to be an actor hired by Amanda. Nightshade quits because Waller outed her.[56] Deadshot avoids arrest with an insanity plea, and is sent to a mental institution. Rick Flag leaves the country to avoid arrest, and decides to redeem himself by finishing the Jihad. There is an atomic bomb buried in their fortress, left there by Flag's father during World War II, and Rick decides to reactivate it. He sneaks into Jotunheim and arms the bomb, but Rustam catches him and the two men fight. The bomb goes off with Rick Flag and Rustam still inside, killing both of them.[57]

Janus Directive

During "The Janus Directive" there's an interagency war between Checkmate, the Suicide Squad, and Project Atom, who are manipulated by Kobra in order to distract the United States intelligence community from his activities. The interagency war destroys the headquarters of both Checkmate and the Suicide Squad, and costs the lives of all members of the Force of July, with the sole exception of Major Victory. In the aftermath, with the defeat of Kobra, the various government agencies are made autonomous, to be overseen by Sarge Steel. After sending the team on one last mission, and releasing Deadshot, Poison Ivy and Ravan, Amanda Waller is also put into custody.

The Phoenix Gambit

After a year of imprisonment for Amanda Waller, the Suicide Squad is in shambles. But she is eventually given a presidential pardon, courtesy of Sarge Steel, as well as one million dollars and her old privileges concerning the use of imprisoned villains. This is done so that Waller can reassemble the Squad and prevent a confrontation between American and Soviet forces in the war-torn Vlatava. As the Suicide Squad succeeds and finishes their mission, they go into a new direction, seceding from the government, as freelance operatives, per the terms negotiated by Waller. Under the leadership of Waller, who herself now also goes into the field as an operative, they are a mercenary squad open to the highest bidder. Briscoe dies on a mission to Apokolips.[58][59] Jess Bright returned as a villain called Koschei to plague them.[10] After more conflicts with Kobra, the Justice League, and other various terrorists and despots, the Suicide Squad is disbanded by Waller.[60]

Suicidal Tendencies

Amanda Waller puts a new Suicide Squad together to take down the Silicon Dragons cartel in Hawaii. Their field leader is Sam Makoa and their members include Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, King Shark, Knockout, and Sidearm. Superboy volunteers to help and they travel underwater to the cartel's ocean base. Lady Dragon sends Stinger to kill them.[61] They battle Stinger and escape. Sidearm tries to betray the team, and he is killed by King Shark. Lady Dragon captures Superboy and challenges him to single combat.[62] Captain Boomerang is revealed to be working for Lady Dragon. Deadshot tries to kill Boomerang by shooting his hands while he's hanging from a ledge. Superboy rescues Boomerang but his throwing hands are destroyed. They blow up the underwater base, but Lady Dragon and Stinger escape.[63]

The D.E.O. sends Cameron Chase to Peru, where she is supposed to blow up a temple and destroy the Construct. Waller puts Chase in charge of a new Suicide Squad with members including Bolt, Copperhead, Killer Frost, and Sledge. These villains betray Chase in the field, and throw her off a cliff while they escape.[67] The area is surrounded by guerilla insurgents called the Shining Path, and the villains have to fight their way through. Chase survives and discovers that the Construct has infiltrated the Rocket Red Brigade. The Suicide Squad wipes out local military and destroys their base, crippling the Construct so it can't get out. The villains escape with the Russian army, leaving Chase behind.[68]

General Rock's Suicide Squad

52

Black Adam begins gaining political power in the Middle East when several countries adopt his Freedom of Power Treaty. The American government still views Black Adam as a terrorist, and Amanda Waller has Atom Smasher build a team to stop his old friend.[73] This new team includes the second Captain Boomerang, Count Vertigo, Electrocutioner, Persuader, and Plastique.[74] Black Adam has rehabilitated because of his new Black Marvel Family, and the Suicide Squad attacks them in Kahndaq. Persuader threatens to kill Isis, and Osiris is so scared that he accidentally kills Persuader. They fail to arrest Black Adam, but Waller says that she got what she needed.[75] It is later shown that Waller got video footage of the murder, which is enough to ruin the Black Marvels' political reputation.[76] Waller tries to build another Squad to kill Black Adam during World War III, but Atom Smasher refuses to participate in another setup and threatens her with blackmail.[77] Bronze Tiger is convinced to join her team for future battles, when Waller tells him that Rick Flag is still alive.[78]

Rogue Squad

Bronze Tiger rescues Rick Flag from a secret Quraci prison, where Flag had been imprisoned for four years.[79] Afterwards, Amanda Waller enlists the aid of both men in tracking down a rogue Suicide Squad team led by the Mirror Master. The team is eventually revealed as having been under Waller's control all along, and now being led by the newly returned Rick Flag.

The Suicide Squad largely remained behind the scenes for awhile after 52, although a largely unseen version of the Squad was seen active in Santa Prisca during an attempt to falsify their new democratic elections. Colonel Computron defected from the team and attempted to contact Checkmate in an attempt to play the two organizations against each other. He was unaware of the connections between Suicide Squad and Checkmate, and was assassinated by Amanda Waller's agents shortly afterwards.

Salvation Run

It was revealed that Amanda Waller was using the Squad, in conjunction with her Checkmate resources, in a campaign against Earth's supervillains. After the events of World War Three, the US government had concluded that chaotic superhumans were too dangerous to leave unchecked. Waller and the Squad were secretly tracking down supervillains and capturing them. If the villains agreed to work with the Suicide Squad then they would be recruited. If not, they would be sent through a boom tube to an unknown location. The other leaders of Checkmate suspected Waller's involvement in the disappearance of the supervillains, but ousted her for other reasons before they could delve further into her scheme. Waller succeeded in deporting the majority of the world's most well-known supervillains prior to the events of Salvation Run.

Javelin is part of the team that rescues Nemesis out of the Soviet Union.[38]

Jess Bright is a nuclear physicist who was part of the Silver Age team.[3] He was believed to have died when a Yeti attacked them in Cambodia.[1] It was later revealed that China had recovered him, and they turned him into a monster called Koschei.[10]

Karin Grace was a combat medic who fell in love with Rick Flag and followed him to Task Force X.[3] She became a member of the Manhunters after they broke up, and died during Millennium.[29]

Manchester Black is forced to become the field leader of President Luthor's Suicide Squad.[70] They force him to comply by injecting nanites into his spine. Manchester leads his team to release Doomsday in the JLA Watchtower, and alters Doomsday's mind to attack Imperiex. After this mission, Manchester negates the nanites with his powers and escapes.[71]

Parasite is part of the team sent to arrest a rogue Firestorm.[22] Flag believes he is too dangerous, but Derek Tolliver releases him. Parasite goes on a killing spree attacking both Firestorm and the rest of the Suicide Squad.[23]

The Penguin is recruited to plan the kidnapping of Zoya Trigorin in Moscow.[24] He leaves after this mission.[26]

Persuader is part of the team sent to attack the Black Marvels.[74] He is killed by Osiris.[75]

Rick Flag was a pilot who originally lead the team.[3] Waller later recruited him as her field leader.[18] He was supposedly killed when a bomb exploded next to him and Rustam.[57] It was later revealed that he survived.

Vixen teams up with the Suicide Squad to avenge a friend that was murdered by drug dealers.[36] In her anger she kills Xavier Cujo, and she accepts Waller's invitation for permanent membership because she believes she should serve time among criminals.[37]

Weasel is part of the team sent to retrieve Hawk in Nicaragua. He is killed by a deranged Rick Flag wielding the Thinking Cap.[35]

Paraphernalia

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985-86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Trivia

The phrase "carry on for us" is thematically important to the Suicide Squad. This phrase brings Hugh Evans, Jess Bright, Karin Grace, and Rick Flag together in the original team. They have all experienced great losses, but instead of succumbing to tragedy, they "carry on" for the sake of others. The phrase is directly spoken to Evans and Bright.[3] It is later retconned to be something that Rick Flag, Sr. taught to his son Rick Flag, Jr..[1] When Karin Grace sacrifices herself, she tells Rick to carry on for her.[29] The night that Rick Flag dies, he leaves a letter for Nightshade telling her to carry on for him.[57]